Free of Duty
by Artemis Aurelia
Summary: Constance Jones, one of Kate's old friends and Ducky's new intern, finds herself much more involved with a case than she intended when she has a personal connection with one of the deceased. Original Character! McOC, possible/eventual Tate.


**Chapter Notes: I proudly present the long-delayed first chapter of my new series of NCIS fanfiction! This is the first in a line of 4 stories I currently have planned. Yeah, seems like a lot (easier when you don't have to write it!) but I've got a lot planned for the lovely Constance Jones, my original character for this series. Here's to hoping you enjoy this story, and all the rest to come! -Artemis**

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"Aha, the lab rat awakens!" Kate Todd said, looking up from a folder as she heard the elevator door open.

"Shut up, Kate," the dark haired girl said, smiling at the NCIS Special Agent as she approached Gibbs' desk.

"Lab rat?" Tony said, also looking up at the almost-32 year old. "Wait, you know each other?" he asked after a moment, his attention switching to Kate.

"Connie, how's internship with Ducky treating you?" Gibbs called out as he neared the bullpen. Tony made a face at Kate, who simply ignored him. He mouthed Kate's name a few times, ending with a not-so-quietly shouted whisper. Kate glanced over and smirked.

"'Scuse me, boss, but can someone introduce me?" Tony asked loudly over the girl's conversation with Gibbs. She cut herself off while saying something about 'Abby' and 'show you something'. Gibbs turned and glared at the annoying Special Agent. Connie turned around and smiled.

"Let me guess... DiNozzo, right?" Connie asked.

Tony grinned. "So you've heard of me?"

"Yeah. Kate told me about how you're always hitting on various women." Connie grinned in triumph. Tony closed his mouth quickly.

Tim McGee wandered out of the elevator with a coffee cup in his hand. He looked around at the gathering of people in the bullpen as he moved towards his desk.

"Who's this?" he asked, gesturing to Connie and setting his coffee and bag down at his seat.

"This is Connie Jones. She's one of my friends from high school, and she recently started interning with Ducky. Con, you know Gibbs," Kate said. Connie smiled and nodded. "You met Tony..." Tony smiled at the brunette. "And Tim McGee." McGee smiled a greeting to Kate's friend as well. Connie smiled quickly. Gibbs started for the elevator to see what Abby had sent Connie up to tell him about.

"So what brings a lab rat venturing into the daylight?" Tony asked, turning toward Connie, who was perching on the edge of her friend's desk.

"Oh, I figured I'd just come up and say hi..." Connie replied, smiling innocently. Kate threw a disbelieving glance Connie's way as she shooed her off the corner of the desk. "...and Abby wanted me to fetch Gibbs to see something."

"Which was...?" Kate asked as she shuffled a few papers over to the other side of her desk.

"She wouldn't tell me."

"Obviously something funny... Gibbs looks angry," Tony said, quickly moving around his desk and taking a seat as the silver-haired man appeared out of the elevator with a scowl on his face.

"Grab your gear, we got a case!" he announced, going over to his desk to grab his badge and gun. He tossed a keyring toward an already-moving McGee. Connie stopped leaning against the edge of Kate's desk and started to move back towards the elevator.

"And that's my cue to leave... see you guys later!" Connie called out as she hit the button for the elevator. When the door opened, Ducky stepped out before she could step in.

"Dr. Mallard! You just caught me. I was on my way back down to the lab now."

"Actually, Constance, I wanted to ask if you'd like to come with me to the crime scene?" Connie smiled brightly.

"Sure!"

"Good. Go grab your things and meet me at the van, please," Ducky said smiling and stepping aside so Connie could take the elevator down.

***

Connie hopped out of the van and jogged over to where Kate, Tony, and Tim stood while Ducky walked over to the crime scene tape with Gibbs.

"Hey, aren't you s'posed to be with Ducky?" Tony asked, looking between the elderly medical examiner and the young intern.

"Field test. He wants to see what's over there first, then he's gonna see how I do," Connie responded, leaning back against the fence behind her and fiddling with the beaded chain of her necklace.

"Dogtags?" McGee asked, noticing the small silver plates at the end of the chain around Connie's neck.

"Copies of my boyfriend's. James gave them to me and told me that even if he died in Iraq, he'd still be with me."

"How is he, anyway? You haven't mentioned anything recently," Kate asked as she looked over to where Gibbs stood, trying to figure out why they weren't over there yet.

"Actually, he emailed me on Saturday... he's home, Katie!" Connie broke into a wide grin.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner! Oh, Connie, that's great! Have you talked to him?"

"No, I haven't. I've been busy. I'm gonna go see him tonight, if I can get out of the lab before 8. And I hadn't told you yet because you said you had a lot on your plate and I didn't want to distract you."

Both Gibbs and Ducky signaled for the four people gathered on the fence at the same time. Gibbs held up the line of crime scene tape to let everyone go under.

"Constance, follow me. There's a body over here, and another by the dumpsters," Ducky said, pointing a little to the left. Connie pulled on a pair of rubber gloves as they walked.

"Body temperature and estimated time of death?" Ducky asked as the two of them knelt on the tarmac beside the dead naval officer. Connie pulled out the thermometer and took the body's temperature quickly, making an estimate when the needle settled on a number.

"His temp is 75.9 °F, and it's only the morning, so I'd say 14 to 16 hours ago," Connie said, looking up to Ducky.

"If that's true, then he was killed at night, which explains the low core temperature, yes?" The intern nodded. "Good work. Now, what do you think killed this young seaman?"

"Well, there are two gunshot wounds to his chest and one to his stomach, but I noticed some bruising on his left forearm. Maybe he was doing drugs?"

"Perhaps he was. Abby can check for traces of anything in his blood when we get back to the lab." Ducky looked up to see Gibbs signaling to have Connie brought over to the other body. "I believe Jethro needs you, my dear," Ducky said to his concentrating intern. Connie looked up, and then looked over her shoulder. She stood and slowly walked over to where Gibbs stood.

"What do you need?" she asked curiously, looking between the aged man before her and the rest of the team. Tony and McGee stood near Gibbs, while Kate stood about five feet away from the second body.

"Come here," Kate said, gesturing for her friend to join her. Connie walked over to Kate, who pointed at the dogtags around the young man's neck. She cocked an eyebrow at her solemn-faced friend, then knelt down to see what the tags said. She ran her gloved thumb over the cool metal before reading the words aloud.

"Petty Officer James... Freeman..." Connie said slowly, trailing off and letting the chain slip from her fingers. She rocked back on her heels and touched the chain around her neck as tears filled her eyes.

Kate knelt down next to Connie and put an arm around her, telling her quietly that it would be okay.

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**A/N: Dun dun dun? Haha! So how do you like the first chapter? Drop me a line! I'm always happy to have feedback. Hope to see you again (soon?) when I post the next chapter! Until then, happy writing! ~A**


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